18 Commentson "Stare at my Sumptuous Staging"

Geeze, you’re not kidding, Marty. I have to wonder if not only were they looking to list this house, but if they were also looking to create a magazine spread as well. Might be why there are not bathroom pics. Even though the staging is totally unnatural, it does give several nice views of detail work, the sort of things not usually available in newer homes, such as the raised work on the fireplace mantel.

Nice looking place, but looking is all I could afford to do. $1M is not in my price range. Even if it were, the 1800 usable sq ft would have to be way more special than this is for me to consider it. It’s nice, but it’s nothing spectacular. Except for those photos.

One thing I did notice… who puts a dresser (or any piece of furniture) directly at the bottom of their stairs? A trip and fall is bad enough without breaking your ribs on a weirdly placed dresser…

This effort did seem more like someone staging a shoot for their photography portfolio… and gave me another one of my “Now, if I tried something like that…” moments: If *I* tried that, I can about guarantee the pomegranates would have ended up on the couch and the cat on the cupcakes.

As perfectly set-up as those photos are, the actual house would end up disappointing me. “Hey, there’s none of the carefully-arranged charm and warmth to this house as you and your Adobe Lightroom post-processing made it look like there was!!”

@Emerald63: No reference. I was just imagining the parents of a baby put in the crib, if it actually looked as bright as it does in photo #13, when they arrive at the doctor’s office to have the blindness checked out.

Doctor: “I think we need have her checked for a skin condition too. Wait a minute. Is she sunburned?”

@Frodo: I see your point, lol. (Really weird coincidence with the wording, though.) Looking at Pic 13 again, it almost looks like the super strong specialty lights they use for some medical treatments… in neo-natal units? I can almost hear the buzz just looking at the pic.

You know, as charming as this setup is–and it sure as heck is, that’s without a doubt!–I can’t help but wonder just how much of the lovely furniture and cute shabby-chic details really convey. Without them, that place is gonna look terribly plain. And as the mother of three kids, I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt there is NO way anyone with rugrats is going to be able to keep all those white curtains and duvets so brilliantly spotless. It will be a jelly-smeared ant-bedecked mud-splattered nightmare in fifteen minutes.

@Emerald63: Really?! Where do you live? That house (if actually sound, not just cutetsi-fied) here in Edmonton, in the right neighbourhood would be at LEAST twice what they’re asking. We’re looking at crappy 1930-60’s bungalows in the 1/4 mill range in “revitalized” neighbourhoods right now and it’s slim, slim pickings.

@Karyn: Edmonton, Alberta? That Edmonton? I never would have figured it for being overpriced. Is there any need to account for differences in the Canadian and U.S. dollar values? Or is it not that great? Sounds like our Wall Street thieves didn’t affect your housing market as much as they did ours. It wasn’t just that they tanked the economy in general, they specifically torpedoed any chance for a healthy housing market for years.

Anywho, I live in the Midwest, pretty much smack in the middle of the Lower 48. Even some of the big cities are still affordable and that’s definitely the case in the town of 40,000 where I live.

Actually, a lot of what we’ve got here is in *really* bad shape after decades of neglect. So prices may just reflect that. New or newer homes do command much more. But there’s not much in between. If you can afford more than junk, but not what they charge for not-junk, you’re kinda stuck with taking junk and paying to fix it up… if the condition of at least some of the neighborhood merits it. If not… there’s no guarantee fixing it up will get you anywhere should you need to move again or prefer to have neighbors who have at least some pride in their homes. I have to think this is the case in lots of small communities, but I have no idea if it’s true for somewhat larger cities like ours. I have mixed emotions about it – it would be good if other cities haven’t fallen into this nasty trap, but then again, it would paint my town as even worse for its current condition.

The same is true for the rental market, which we’re in. For something affordable, you have your choice of tiny, in horrid condition, or both. Anything that’s not horrid is more and anything that’s not horrid *and* is a decent size carries an outrageous rent. But my hubby’s got around 27 years at his company (skilled machinist labor), so moving isn’t really an option. It’s part of why I like to look at pretty houses online and crucify the bad ones. Works on both levels. :)